Jen Oh

Eating

The Benefits of Turmeric

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Recently, I did a Facebook Live event for the Northern CA Lupus Foundation and one of the questions was on turmeric.

Turmeric is an amazing spice. Its benefits have been praised all over the internet, but if I was going to talk about it’s benefits – I really wanted to understand what it does in our bodies.

Dr JJ Bright, in his paper ‘Curcumin and autoimmune disease’ comments that curcumin ameliorates conditions like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease etc. It does so by regulating the activity of inflammatory agents and pathways activated in immune cells.…

Saving Strawberries

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This week, we went organic strawberry pickings for the first time in 2 years. Though we ate strawberries from time to time, we never made all the yummy extras that we always had in the past. To understand why, read my post about not so organic strawberries. My kids are ecstatic that we’re strawberry picking again…and they picked 12lbs!

All the way home, they discussed all the yummy treats we’d make. Besides making jam, I needed a way to save strawberries to continue enjoying them, even when strawberry season is over. If you find yourself with extra strawberries, consider trying this as an easy ways to save and enjoy strawberries.

Print Recipe
Strawberry Chips
Dehydrating strawberries is easy, simple, and the taste is incredible! The strawberry flavor is intensified and it's like candy. Add them to granola, trail mix,

The Not So Organic Strawberry

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For years, my family loved to go and pick organic strawberries each summer. We’d pick enough strawberries to make jam, fruit gummies, and fruit leather, plus have tons to eat. That all stopped in 2014 (when this picture was taken), after I learned that organic strawberries weren’t so organic. For the last 2 years, we haven’t eaten nearly as many strawberries as before and, every time we ate them, I wondered just how bad they really were.…

The Amazing Kale Chip

 

Kale

Kale is one of those amazing vegetables that is chock full of great vitamins and nutrients…but until last year, we didn’t really eat it much. I never grew up eating kale and I had no idea how to make any yummy kale dishes. I tried a kale salad, adding it to soups, but nothing really worked for us… until my husband made kale chips (and I finally did too). Wow! Nowadays, we can barely keep them from being devoured within hours of coming out of the oven.…

Elderberries – nature’s cold medicine

For years when people complain they have colds- I tell them about elderberries. It’s our go to cold remedy and immune booster. I give elderberries to family and friends and make them syrup too. It’s easy to make and it prevents us from getting sick. If we are sick, it helps us improve in half the time as it normally takes. Plus, making elderberry syrup is easy, cheap, and I know exactly what’s in it.…

Dairy Delights


I have a secret…I don’t like milk. I rarely ever drink it. But I love dairy! I love cheese, I love yogurt, and I love cooking with all sorts of dairy products. I have promised a few people that I’d post on how to make yogurt, buttermilk, and sour cream. They are all super easy to make with very little effort… so easy that you could make buttermilk and sour cream before you even finish reading this!…

All about Beans

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Every well stocked pantry should have beans. They are versatile and yummy. They are high in protein, easy to add to a variety of meals, and kids tend to really like them – at least my kids do.…

Are you prepared?

Emergencies
For the last year, emergency preparedness was one of those things on my to do list, but I never got it together to actually make our emergency kit (go kit) or to even learn what to do. After attending 2 emergency preparedness meetings (1 class was mandatory to continue in the CERT program), I finally signed up to take the official classes to become a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member.

What will you do in an emergency? How will you know your family and loved ones are safe? How will you handle the situation? …

The Family Meal: Dinner

Dinner is the one meal we all sit at the table and eat together. When Marc and I found out how few people actually take the time to do this, we promised ourselves that we would try to eat together for as long as possible. We all have extremely busy schedules and with work – this can be a challenge, but we have found some great tricks along the way that I thought I’d share.…

Lunch-the dreaded meal

One of the best compliments we receive is that our 4 year old son is a great eater. He actually prefers veggies and fruits and eats a lot. He’s as adventurous as you can hope a 4 year old would be and will at least try a bite of anything new. This is something our family has agreed upon – all of us – we don’t have to finish any dish, but you must at least try a few bites of anything new.

I was really surprised when his preschool teacher informed me that food was one of the biggest issues they have at the school. Many kids don’t eat, are picky, or have bad foods provided. I found out that one of the biggest questions parents have for the teacher is – what should I pack for my child to eat? What is quick, easy, nutritious, and that my kids will eat? …